Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) belongs to the family of Paramyxoviridae, subfamily of Pneumovirinae. The human RSV is a major cause of acute upper and lower respiratory tract infection in infants and children. Almost all children are infected by RSV at least once by age of three. Natural human immunity against RSV is incomplete. In normal adults and older children, RSV infection is mainly associated with upper respiratory track symptoms. Severe case of RSV infection often leads to bronchiolitis and pneumonia, which requires hospitalization. High-risk factors for lower respiratory tract infections include premature birth, congenital heart disease, chronic pulmonary disease, and immuno-compromised conditions. A severe infection at young age may lead to recurrent wheezing and asthma. For the elderly, RSV-related mortality rate becomes higher with advancing age.
There is no RSV vaccine available for human use, despite of many attempts in subunit vaccine and live-attenuated vaccine approaches. Virazole®, the aerosol form of ribavirin, is the only approved antiviral drug for treatment of RSV infection. However, it is rarely used clinically, due to limited efficacy and potential side effects. Two marketed prophylaxis antibodies were developed by MedImmune (CA, USA).
RSV-IGIV (brand name RespiGam) is polyclonal-concentrated RSV neutralizing antibody administered through monthly infusion of 750 mg/kg in hospital (Wandstrat T L, Ann Pharmacother. 1997 January; 31(1):83-8). Subsequently, the usage of RSV-IGIV was largely replaced by palivizumab (brand name Synagis®), a humanized monoclonal antibody against RSV fusion (F) protein approved for prophylaxis in high-risk infants in 1998. When administered intramuscularly at 15 mg/kg once a month for the duration of RSV season, palivizumab demonstrated 45-55% reduction of hospitalization rate caused by RSV infection in selected infants (Pediatrics. 1998 September; 102(3):531-7; Feltes T F et al, J Pediatr. 2003 October; 143(4):532-40). Unfortunately, palivizumab is not effective in the treatment of established RSV infection. A newer version monoclonal antibody, motavizumab, was designed as potential replacement of palivizumab but failed to show additional benefit over palivizumab in recent Phase III clinical trials (Feltes T F et al, Pediatr Res. 2011 April 25, Epub ahead of print).
A number of small molecule RSV inhibitors have been discovered. Among them, only a few reached Phase I or II clinical trials. Arrow Therapeutics (now a group in AstraZeneca, UK) completed a five-year Phase II trial of nucleocapsid (N) protein inhibitor RSV-604 in stem cell transplantation patients by February 2010 (www.clinicaltrials.gov), but has not released the final results. Most of other small molecules were put on hold for various reasons.
RNAi therapeutics against RSV have also been thoroughly studied. ALN-RSV01 (Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, MA, USA) is an siRNA targeting on RSV gene. A nasal spray administered for two days before and for three days after RSV inoculation decreased infection rate among adult volunteers (DeVincenzo J. et al, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2010 May 11; 107(19):8800-5). In another Phase II trial using naturally infected lung transplantation patients, results were not sufficient for conclusion of antiviral efficacy, though certain health benefits have been observed (Zamora M R et al, Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2011 Feb. 15; 183(4):531-8). Additional Phase IIb clinical trials in similar patient population for ALN-RSV01 are on-going (www.clinicaltrials.gov). Nevertheless, safe and effective treatment for RSV disease is needed urgently.